The 2027 Budget Bill cuts funding for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 60.32% in real terms. These are the climate commitments Chile submits to the United Nations Convention Paris Agreement.
BioBioChile reported this based on a review by La Tercera. The bill also removes the budget provision, meaning the specific spending designation, that identified funding for the Escazú Agreement. That treaty, ratified by Chile, guarantees access to environmental information and public participation in decisions affecting the environment.
In total, the Ministry of the Environment, headed by Francisca Toledo, would have $98,631 million available in 2027. That figure is 0.95% lower in real terms than the budget approved for 2026, with projected inflation of 3.1%. The ministry offers another comparison: according to its calculations, the amount is 0.3% above the current 2026 budget law and 0.7% below the initial 2026 budget law.
The general climate change allocation falls by 21.76% in real terms. The ministry says these resources will focus on obligations under the Framework Law on Climate Change and the Regional Climate Change Action Plans (PARCC). According to the ministry, over the past four years, 6.7% of resources went unspent and were returned to the Budget Directorate (Dipres). It added that some spending funded workshops, seminars and catering services, activities with no direct environmental impact.
The removal of the Escazú budget provision eliminates the specific identification of its spending and the associated report. The ministry maintained that this "does not mean that commitments associated with the agreement are being eliminated or suspended" and that implementation will continue in 2027 at the national and regional levels.
Funding for the Sustainable Heating program, which replaces old wood-burning stoves with less polluting equipment, falls by 54.47%. The ministry explained that in 2027 it will prioritize installing 10,072 heaters currently held in warehouses and generating administrative costs.
The Superintendency of the Environment (SMA), the agency that oversees companies and projects with environmental permits, sees its budget fall by 2.44% in real terms. Funding for its inspection programs falls by 19.40%, and its maximum staffing allocation loses 14 positions. The ministry said it would maintain inspections through remote monitoring, environmental intelligence and strategic regional enforcement.
At the undersecretariat, transfers fall by 67.93%. The $200 million transfer to the Fondo Naturaleza Chile Foundation disappears, and the Environmental Protection Fund falls by almost 30%. Programs such as wetlands, species conservation and municipal environmental certification move to a general authorization without individual allocations. This makes it harder to know how much each will receive. The ministry says they will continue to receive funding.
The sources do not report reactions from lawmakers or environmental organizations. By contrast, the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service (SBAP), the new institution responsible for protected areas, receives a 24.38% increase in real terms. The bill now continues through debate in Congress.
